8i4 
hnppUment to the “ fvopicat Agricultuvist.” 
[M a'j I ; 1 8 g I . 
f a French steamer who claimed for it the pro- 
perty of easy solubiiity in sea-water. Sai)onifi- 
cation or the process of soap-mahing is brought 
about by tieatiiig fatty or oily acids with caustic 
soda or caustic potash — the result being the 
production of a potassium or sodium salts of the 
fatty or oily acids, these consisting soax>s. Hard 
soax) has soda, soft sonxjhas x^otash as a base. 
Margosa or Kohomba oil is extracted from the 
fruit of the Nim or ilargosa tree. This oil is 
largely used in Native medical X'^^ictice. Gingelly 
oil is got from the gingelly or sesamum xalant. 
Kekuna oil is expressed from the nuts of the 
kekuna tree, which contains about 50 per cent of 
oil. This oil is also exxiorted, and is used in soap 
manufacture. Caju oil is expressed from the 
caju or cashew nut which contains about 4 x^er cent 
of oil. Mi oil is got from the fruit of the mi tree, 
and is used in native medicine. Castor oil from 
the castor xhant is also x^roduced in Ceylon to 
some extent. 
Of essential oils, the x^rincipal is — Cinnamon oil 
distilled from tliecbips, bark, andin some cases from 
the leaves of the cinnamon x^lant. It is exx>orted 
to a fairly large extent, and is used in medicine 
and for x)erfumery. 
Citronella oil is distilled from citronella grass, 
and is exxiorted for use in x^erfumery and for 
scenting soax^s and xiomatums. 
Lemon grass oil, distilled from lemon grass, 
is made use of in the same manner as citronella 
oil, and to a large extent in the xirexiaration of 
Eau-de-cologne. 
Other less im])ortant oil-xn'oduciiig xdants found 
in Ceylon are Mustard, Croton, Homba, Na (ii’ou- 
wood). Cotton, ruluu (tree cotton), lion, Ground- 
nut, Sunflower, Malabodda, Huhudu, Weta- 
erandu, Horaua, Murunga, and Kina. 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
It is with xjleasure we have to record the fact 
of a new x^i'osp^ct being oxjeued out to the 
students of the School of Agriculture. A Sinha- 
lese gentleman, who isalarge landowner of wealth 
of standing — Init whose name we have no xiermis- 
sion to xJi-ihlish — has signified his intention of 
cmx^loying agricultural students who have x*‘>ssed 
through the School of Agriculture with credit, 
on his estates, whenever he is in need of Su])er- 
intendcuts. He offers liberal terms, and gives 
his intended emx)loyees an opportuirity of becom- 
ing ac(juainted with the technicalities of the 
cultivalion of sx^ecial x't'od nets before taking ux) 
the reiii.s of office into their own hands. This 
offV‘i'’o))ens out a hax^py x)ro,sxiPCt to those who are 
ni'ither fortunate enough to be selected forGovern- 
menl omiiloy as agricultui-al in.structors, nor 
ha\ i' facililic.s for cai'rying on cultivatioji on their 
own accomil. 
Some time ago we lafl'eri'ecl to the aih'antagos of 
Miijiloyiiig jias.'-ed student, s of the School of Agri- 
cubu)-e, as ])oiii(ed Old by ajuHate emjfloyer of 
Olio of our ,sl iideiits. Itcaiiuotbe doubted that 
Iho training, ( heorel ical and )iraclical, and (he 
di'ei))line under which 1 he st udents are brought 
at this iiistituliou 'will result in making more 
intelligent and reliable su|ierinteudenl,s and con- 
ductor: oljuivate e:date.sthan are found among 
llie ordinary xducc-sccker.'j of Uii.s dcscrixhioii, l\’c 
have more than once heard of a conductor, who 
as the result of confirsion in his mind with 
regard to his instructions, has gone ahead work- 
ing as hard as ever in a wrong direction in blissful 
ignorance he was doing damage (that was 
hardly to be remedied exeextt at the co.st of much 
time, expense and labourj to his master’s pro- 
X^erty or crox). Now the average agricultural 
.student can at least be trusted to exercise a good 
deal of discretion on his own account, and to 
bring the x^i’inciples he has been taught in his 
class-room to guide him in a critical moment. 
AVe will not dilate further on this subject for 
fear of being credited with a x^artiality for adver- 
tising ourselves. It is, however, a very gratify- 
ing matter to find gentlemen, such as the new 
Xjatron of the School of Agriculture, ax^x^reciating 
the results of the work done here, and encourag- 
ing agricultural students hy the liberal offers 
they make. 
AVhy, it has been asked, is not all the teaching 
at the fcichool of Agriculture carried on in Sinhalese 
instead of in English ? True that by far the 
greater number of the students are Sinhalese, 
yet there are generally four or live Tamil students 
— the Burgher community having been for the 
Xuist three years rexu’esented by one — to whom 
it would be a manifest disadvantage to be taught 
in Sinhalese — esx3ecially as the men from 
Jaffna and Batticaloa have so far xwoved them- 
selves keen students of agriculture, and have 
always shown a determination to cany on agri- 
cultural work after leaving school. There is 
another objection in the difficulties that would 
come in the way of a lecturer or teacher doing 
justice to his subject in the Sinhalese language. 
If both masters and students were e.xcellent Sin- 
halese scholars, these difficulties would tend to 
diminish in a degree ; but yet it would be a hard 
matter to find exxiressions in the Sinhalese 
language that would exactly convey the mean- 
ing of scientific terms which croxj up both in 
agriculture and the allied sciences taught at the 
school. It must at the same time he remembered 
that lioth the Sinhalese and Tamil languages are 
freely drawn ux^on to explain words or ex- 
pressions whenever such a need arises. On the 
whole, therefore, it will be admitted that English 
has advisedly been chosen as the medium through 
which students should be instructed in agriculture 
at tliis school. 
In Dr. Kynsey’s address before the Ceylon 
.Branch of the British Medical Association, the 
following a])xiears among the “desiderata for 
imxu’oving the sanitary condition of the country 
and tlie well-being of its inhabitants”; — “ There 
.should be a A^eterinary department for the study 
of (lie diseases of animals. I believe much loss in 
the country districts could be saved to farmers 
by timely treatment of sick cattle, and by early 
destruction when they are suffering from conta- 
gious disease.” 
In addition to this, one mi; hfi add another dis- 
tinct advantage, from a A^eterinary Department, 
and that is that there will be a number of men, 
c|ualified to in.s])ect cattle and meat as they should 
he inspected, available for emx^loyment as inspectors 
of .sluughtcr-hou.se.s and preat-markets, 
